The Amnesty International researcher for Iran, Drewery Dyke and the Director of the Communications Office in Italy, Riccardo Noury have contacted EveryOne Group about the case of the young gay man, Makvan Moloudzadeh.

Amnesty International asks us why we are so optimistic about the outcome of the case, when unfortunately we cannot consider Makvan’s situation concluded. Naturally our conviction is not only based on confidence and enthusiasm - which are essential qualities in those who fight for human rights - but these qualities are unable to achieve results if unsupported by a critical spirit and the analytical aptitude to read judicial situations that are complex and difficult to interpret from a distance,

First of all, we are very happy that Amnesty International is now taking greater interest in Makvan’s case, a case which is without doubt symbolic of the serious situation of discrimination against homosexuals that exists in Iran .

EveryOne Group considers the opinion expressed by Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi (the highest religious and judicial authority in Iran) on the case of the young homosexual to be very important. The Ayatollah is the Head of the Judiciary System in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

To sum up the recent events, the boy was already destined for the scaffold when the international campaign induced Shahroudi to look at the verdict again and annul Makvan’s death sentence – his life was spared even if he is still in jail awaiting judgment. There is a good chance he will be found innocent at the end of the new legal proceedings, also because we do not see religious and political authorities in a position to overturn the interpretation of the Islamic Penal Code carried out (correctly) by Shahroudi - and which on the other hand has never happened before.

EveryOne Group now wishes to seek dialogue with the Iranian Head of the Judiciary System and President, as well as to continue to monitor the proceedings. The contacts may not obtain any feedback, but it is a path worth trying. The campaign for Makvan’s life is extremely delicate and we believe it may be necessary to renew it very soon, perhaps using once again the symbolic language of flowers which the Islamic world has shown to respond well to.

We hope Amnesty supports the Flowers for Life in Iran Campaign, because it is a new instrument that will allow us to communicate with the Islamic world on the subject of human rights.

I have sent a letter to Riccardo Noury, reminding him – but Riccardo will already be well aware of this – that human rights are being trampled on as never before throughout the world, and it is necessary to retrieve the fundamental values civilization is based on: life, solidarity, equality. Because capital punishment is no longer, unfortunately, only the scaffold and lethal injection - it manifests itself when human beings are oppressed and crushed to the point that they are no longer able to preserve their most precious possession.

I wrote to Riccardo: “Just think of the gypsies in Italy: the death sentence for them (whose life expectancy is decreasing all the time) comes in the form of hunger, cold and poverty. Take a look at our website (www.everyonegroup.com): maybe you will find it helpful and important to support some of our campaigns. Campaigns against a death sentence that has found obscure and devious ways of destroying human life.” Amnesty International and EveryOne Group have come together. Has an affinity been discovered between these organizations which are so different from one another? I don’t know, but I hope this crossing of virtual paths can be the start of a parallel journey towards justice and life.

The Makvan Case. A contact between Amnesty International and EveryOne Group

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